7
by nikki.ntm
Summary: Seven drabbles written for the AkuSai Valentine's Day at tumblr.
1. Tracings

Prompt: Confession

Summary: Words don't come easy.

* * *

Mornings were cold in Lea's one-room apartment, the furnitures old and used, the smell of sea washed in through the cracked window by the huge and mostly empty armoire. The cold was a perfect excuse to pull the covers over his head and move in closer to Isa, to place his arm around his waist and rest his head on Isa's bare back and share his warmth. The bed creaked, a subtle reminder that it was carrying more weight than it was built for, and Lea smiled. All of this was his. After years of fighting, of more downs than ups, he finally had a place that was his, theirs, though it would be hard to get Isa to admit it.

Isa's heart thumped gently, in rhythm with the soft rise and fall of his back. Lea traced his fingers up Isa's arm, down his shoulder and down his back over and over again, his fingers following a specific pattern, a thought with an echo that rang silent in Lea's head. Isa's heart beat faster, he held his breath. Lea kept tracing the same pattern, leaving words down Isa's shoulder blade and down his side, until Isa turned his head to Lea's side and moved slightly to catch Lea's attention.

The faint blush on Isa's cheeks was alluring, so much so that Lea moved in close, their foreheads touching.

"I love you, too," Isa said in a whisper, Lea's confession still pleasantly tingling across his back.


	2. Notes

Prompt: Roses  
Summary: Axel finds a gift.

* * *

Two months into the new year and Axel wanted nothing but to sleep until this whole nightmare was over. Almost half of the Organization had died at Castle Oblivion. Saïx's plan had been bullet-proof. He had played them all masterfully, quietly enacted revenge from behind the scenes, getting Axel to do the dirty work for him. Axel had hoped for more than an indifferent greeting in return, maybe a sign of subtle relief at seeing him alive; something along Roxas's reaction.

Axel dragged himself into his room and belly flopped onto his bed. He stuck his hands under his nearly flat pillow and pulled them back out when he felt a faint sting on his fingers. He picked up the pillow, and underneath, in an arch, lay eight dark red roses with a folded post-it on top. The sting faded, overtaken by curiosity and anticipation.

_I really am glad that you made it out alive. I've missed you. - Isa_

Axel collected the roses in his hands and inhaled their scent, eyes closed, a small content smile playing on his lips. The moment was brief. The sweet scent of the roses soon became a stench of smoke as he burned them in his hold, only specks of ashes left on the white floor. He was supposed to burn the note, too, but he folded it, kissed it and put it in the pocket of his coat.


	3. Heat

Prompt: Passion  
Summary: An encounter in the Organization's locker room. Nsfw.

* * *

Alone time came far in between long-winded missions in far away worlds not even Vexen could pronounce. Axel had only been at the castle for sleep the past few weeks and Saïx had been taking turns in drowning in paperwork and slogging through the slime of pesty little Heartless in Halloween Town. This ten minute window in the locker room was the most they had seen of each other in far too long. Axel was not going to let it go to waste. There was no 'hello', no words exchanged at all, only a low growl of unconstrained need when Axel pushed a half-naked Saïx against a hidden corner of the locker room and kissed him for every missed and stolen opportunity.

Saïx found the zipper of Axel's coat faster than he'd find his own nose, eager and desperate to the point that he didn't care for the black marks left on his skin from the leftover traces of Axel's missions. Though foreplay was out of the question, Axel slowed down as soon as he had Saïx turn around to face the wall. He kissed and nibbled at the base of Saïx's neck while he pulled his trousers down his hips. The beat of his heart was nothing but white noise in his ears. He groaned against Saïx's shoulder, bit into it as he was engulfed in heat so delightful his knees nearly buckled underneath him.

Saïx's muffled moans had Axel's blood coil in his veins, setting the rhythm of his hips to that of his pulse. He stroked Saïx, brought him to bliss that had him forget to keep quiet in the empty locker room. Axel followed soon. His breath hitched and he held Saïx tightly against himself as he closed his eyes tightly and was blinded by the only light he'd get to see in this world.

They stayed for a while, a couple of seconds, to catch their breaths and relish in the afterglow of their act for their was no telling how long it would be until next time.


	4. Cheap Tricks

Prompt: Magic  
Summary: There's magic in cheap tricks. For Lea. You're great fun to talk with and a lovely person. Happy Valentine's day, Lea!

* * *

Moments of pressure were not Lea's strong suit. It became increasingly easier for him to be awkward and say the wrong things, which, in a sense, was what happened on the day Isa came back to Radiant Garden as his true self, completely, and finally, Xehanort-free. With their heavy past, it had been hard to think of something to say, and though Lea would have preferred a hug, it seemed as though that was too much to ask from someone who had been emotionally detached for so long.

Lea did the only thing he could think of; a cheap magic trick. In the aftermath of all pain, Lea had gone up to Isa and grabbed his nose.

"Gotcha nose," were the first painfully awkward words Lea had uttered to a best friend he had missed so much he could have broken down and cried. Isa had put his hand to his face in shock, convinced that Lea had taken his nose, and stared in awe when his nose, was in fact, still attached to his face.

That had been six months ago. Isa was still enamored with the idea of cheap magic tricks, the only tragedy being that he was god-awful at pulling them off. His shirts were too tight to hide the long line of bandannas going through his sleeves, down his shirt and trousers. He had four decks of cards, all of which were the same card through the entire deck, and a wand that could go from hard to limp with a simple shake. The wand never failed to make Isa chuckle. Isa only had a one-man audience, and he was not afraid to put up impromptu shows when Lea least expected it.

"Looks like you have awfully dirty ears today, Lea," Isa announced at the doorway.

"Is there any way we can turn those nickels into coffee right away?"

"I think your ears might be dirtier than that." Isa walked up to Lea, the look in his eyes too full of pride for Lea to rain on his parade.

"Fingers crossed for a muffin then."

Isa did the magic movements with his hands before he went for Lea's ears.

"How about…" Isa began and pulled out a small, pink reservation card from the restaurant La Plume. "A dinner… and a movie at Dellies Boulevard." Isa had pulled the two tickets and reservation card out of thin air. Lea gaped, blushed, stuttered until he finally nodded while Isa happily dug out a deck of cards from his pocket for the second act.


	5. A Heart for The Heartless

Prompt: Chocolate

Summary: It's not easy to keep certain plans from the group's second in command.

* * *

Morale was low in the group. Xemnas only proved to be good at motivation before and during breakthroughs when the goal was within grasp, at any other time, he saw it fit to yap on about how they all lacked hearts and were therefore incomplete, and he just went on and on until Xigbar started to yawn.

Axel sat on the floor in his room, cutting through double-folded, red, shiny paper. He had two pens by his feet; one gold and one silver. After a long talk with Xion and Roxas where both had asked him why Twilight Town was covered in hearts and roses, they had come to the conclusion that maybe they should initiate a similar celebration in the group. The idea of giving a Nobody a heart-shaped Valentine's card might be morbid considering what they lacked, but Axel figured that after all of these years, morbidity had become the main genre of humor amongst them.

His bedroom door opened, and he thought that it was Roxas and Xion who had come back with the big box of chocolates Axel had seen in one of the shops in Twilight Town, but the boots Axel caught a glance of were most certainly not Roxas' nor Xion's.

"You still don't bother knockin'?"

"Xion and Roxas were seen sneaking around with a large, glittery box. Do you know anything about that?" Saïx eyed the heart-shaped cards before Axel could gather them all up and hide them behind his back. "What's that?"

Axel leaned back, holding the cards far away from Saïx when he walked up to him to grab the cards and inspect them himself. Saïx would take one look at them before he decided to forbid this gesture of feelings. He'd have to pry these cards out of Axel's cold, dead hands before Axel let that happen. It had been ages since he last felt like going out of his way for something and he was going to see it through.

Saïx grabbed the bunch of cards and tried to pull them out of Axel's grip, but Axel didn't let go. The tug of war lasted only for a few seconds. Saïx pulled Axel forward and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"I like the orange crisp chocolates and the minty ones."

Axel was left with a blush as red as the hearts he was going to give out that lasted long enough for Xion and Roxas to ask and tease him about it. His two friends were left unaware of Saïx's visit and of the extra chocolates Axel slipped into the small pouch meant for Saïx


	6. Thestidae Clamant

Prompt: Heartache  
Summary: There is no cure for lovesickness.

* * *

Scientists will save the world. It had been the running slogan in newspapers when the drug that would cure the lovesick was launched: _Thestidae Clamant_. The demand was high, doctors could barely keep up with the amount of prescriptions they had to hand out. Isa had been one of the first in line, his hands trembling the first time he had gone to the pharmacy to pick up his first prescription, afraid that the pharmacist would laugh and say that the drug was an elaborate joke, or worse, that the pills existed but wouldn't work on him.

A year had passed since. He had only been without his pills for a month during that year, thinking that the pills would have an everlasting effect on him as promised, but a week without them had proved that the lovesickness he suffered from was deeply-rooted. The pills took the edge off, made it bearable to be in the same room, office, building, as Lea. It stopped Isa from glancing pitifully at him during morning meetings and wonder who he had been on the phone with earlier that had made him smile so brilliantly. The pills did nothing for Isa's self-destructive tendencies. The side-effects of long-term use were still uncharted territory, but, at least, Isa thought, it hadn't made him any more violent. He didn't go home to bury his fist in a hole-stricken wall, he didn't wake up to shattered lamps and mirrors or bruised knuckles. Instead, he woke up to the scent of strangers on his bedsheets, to the faint shame of regret and disappointment.

Isa wanted to find Lea in someone else to cure what no pill could. But the more he searched, the further he fell, and he was certain that one day the indifference in Lea's eyes when he looked back at him, would finally smash his battered heart to pieces, and there wouldn't be a scientist in the world that could put it back together.


	7. Goodies

Prompt: Cake  
Summary: Valentine's Day celebration doesn't go as planned.

* * *

Valentine's Day was a day for splurging on chocolate, heart-shaped candy of various flavors and cake surrounded by lit candles and roses by the thousands. Isa had crashed on the couch from the sugar rush, but Lea was ready for a second round, and this time he was set on the double vanilla cream layered cake covered in pink marzipan. The hangover was going to kill in them morning, but the taste of the silky-soft, cool vanilla cream on his tongue made it all worth it.

"Lea?"

"Don't judge me." Lea peeked out from behind the fridge door and ate the piece of cake he was holding between cream-covered fingers.

It was dark in the kitchen with only the fridge light on. Isa had a glass of water and shuffled over to Lea quietly, his lips still wet when he placed a kiss at the base of Lea's ear.

"We're not done celebrating, are we?" Isa hummed in a whisper and nuzzled Lea's neck.

"Not 'til the cake's gone."

Isa grabbed Lea's wrist before Lea could reach for another bite of cake. He brought Lea's hand to his lips and slowly licked off the remaining cream in Lea's slender fingers.

"Oh," Lea chuckled and waved in for a kiss, but had his cheeks squished to be held at a distance.

"Let's brush our teeth first."

"Why?"

"The sea-salt doesn't go well with the cake, or the wine. So, teeth first."

"How romantic."

"It will be," Isa smiled.

Lea was led to the bathroom, sleep making his eyelids heavy at reminding his brain that it was well past two at night when he brushed his teeth. By the time they had snuggled up in bed, in the middle of what was meant to a fire-starter of a kiss, they both fell asleep.


End file.
